Free Online Forms Can Actually Cost Thousands
With the increasing availability of legal resources online, more and more people are turning to generic “fill in the blank” forms as a substitute to having professional legal documents prepared by a bonded and registered legal document assistant. Sometimes, these legal forms can provide a cost effective way to accomplish simple tasks, but more than often cause more problems than if the forms were never prepared. The problem occurs because many internet sites offer a basic version of forms that are not specific to, or do not meet requirements of the state the person lives. Also, many of these online templates do not provide instructions. You won’t know the consequences of using an inappropriate form or making mistakes until it’s too late and the damage is done.
Free Online Forms Can Land You in Court
We have seen this more than once with estate planning Wills. Clients have come in to have a simple probate proceeding completed only to discover the problems caused by the bad Will. There is no easy way to tell a client who recently lost a family member that the their family member just laid out a long and emotional process with their bad Will.
The most recent example was a client who brought in a will which was downloaded from the internet, completed, printed, signed and witnessed. The problem was that it directed all personal property to go equally to the children. It didn’t address the real property (the house). The residuary of the estate (the house) was to be distributed to go to the children’s spouses. The will maker probably didn’t realize that the family home was being gifted to the spouses, who were then divorced from his children.
Free Online Forms or Stationary Stores Are Not Legal Advice
Another example is a client who brought in a fill-in-the-blank Will, the type bought from a stationary store for a few dollars. The father died leaving his property equally to his 4 children. It would have been straightforward, but it didn’t contain any language waiving bond. One of the children wouldn’t sign a bond waiver because she thought the will was unfair. A bonding company will usually require an attorney in charge before issuing a bond, and that was the case here. So the executor had to spend thousands of extra dollars to hire an attorney and secure the bond. In the end, the property was still divided equally between four people, after all the extra expense and steps.
Free Online Forms Can Slow Down Your Eviction
We’ve also seen many problems with eviction forms bought from the office supply store or downloaded from the internet. The court is very technical and rigid about having all the forms prepared correctly. When the burden is on the landlord in an eviction proceeding, it’s a waste of time and money to file and serve legal documents that are not correct for the court.
The Lesson on Free Online Forms
So the lesson to learn is that free or cheap is not always better and may end up costing much more in the long run. Good legal advice and research as well as using a professional businesses to fulfill your legal needs is always your best bet.
